Mumbai: After being quarantined for more than three weeks on the Diamond Princess cruise liner, 138 Indians, including six passengers, boarded the chartered plane sent by the Indian government on Wednesday morning.
The ship was docked off the coast of Japan in Yokohama since February 3. “The flight took off at 6pm (IST) on Wednesday and will be reaching New Delhi at 5am on Thursday.
At New Delhi they have to undergo several tests and based on the result it will decided whether they can go home and start treatment or whether they must be quarantined at a camp set up in Delhi,” said Dinesh Thakkar, father of Sonali, a security officer who had been isolation in a windowless cabin on the ship for the last 24 days.
A photo shared by Dinesh Thakkar, shows his daughter wearing a mask as she boarded the plane; just before boarding she called her father saying, ‘Finally I am coming home.’ “We will be waiting here in Mumbai as we do not know whether they will allow us to meet Sonali in Delhi,” Thakkar added.
